RSSSo here out of nowhere comes Sugar, a roiling maelstrom of a power trio led by none other than Bob Mould. Vocally and lyrically, Copper Blue (Rykodisc) confronts the pain of the world with Mould's characterstically confused, uniquely introspective rage, leaving the meaning to tunes that stick like honey, solos that flow like mad, and a momentum that keeps on like the life-force itself. If the malls still aren't ready for it, maybe you are.
A similar if more calculated rush comes off Going Blank Again (Sire/Reprise), the third album by Manchester's dance-rock-identified Ride. Where once they favored beatwise, atmospheric guitar washes, here they excavate the universal rock and roll fakebook. You'll almost recognize most of the riffs these tunes come off of, and unless you're a stick-in-the-mud you'll enjoy the electronic textures they're dressed up in. Music carries meaning here too--but only if meaning is an issue at all.
Stacy Dean Campbell, Lonesome Wins Again (Columbia): The simplest country album in years--and if you give it a chance, the most winning. Dennis Robbins, Man with a Plan (Giant): another young Nashville cat, this one with a sense of humor and a fondness for rock and roll.
Playboy, Oct. 1992
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Sept. 1992 | Nov. 1992 |  |